Beer, Jeremy. Oscar Charleston: The Life and Legend of Baseball’s Greatest Forgotten Player. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2019. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Jeremy Beer has written the first full biography of one of the greatest baseball players in history, Oscar Charleston. The story is long overdue, and Beer meets expectations, bringing to life…
Smith, Averell “Ace”. The Pitcher and the Dictator: Satchel Paige’s Unlikely Season in the Dominican Republic. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 2018. Pp. 240. 14 photographs, 6 illustrations, 2 tables, appendix, and index. $26.95 hardcover and eBook. $19.95 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Averell Smith paints a vivid picture of a season in the…
Sayama, Kazuo and Bill Staples Jr. Gentle Black Giants: A History of Negro Leaguers in Japan. Fresno, CA: Nisei Baseball Research Project Press, 2019. Pp. 387. Appendices. $27.95 paperback. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy With Gentle Black Giants, Kazuo Sayama and Bill Staples Jr. together fill a huge gap in the literature. While Sayama first wrote…
Jenkins, Sherman. Ted Strong Jr.: The Untold Story of an Original Harlem Globetrotter and Negro Leagues All—Star. New York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2016. Pp. 204. Notes, bibliography, index. Pp. 204. $40.00 hardback. $38.00 eBook. Reviewed by Leslie Heaphy Author Sherman Jenkins straightforwardly presents the story of Ted Strong Jr., following chronologically his career and life.…
Anderson, Daniel. The Culture of Sports in the Harlem Renaissance. Jefferson, NC: McFarland, 2017. Pp. 220. Notes, bibliography, and index. $35.00 softcover. Reviewed by Andrew McGregor The Harlem Renaissance is frequently described as a flowering of African American social, cultural, and artistic expression. It also reflected an important intellectual moment, marked by radicalism and the…
By Leslie Heaphy Having any discussion that involves female owners in the Negro Leagues has to begin with a discussion of Effa Manley, the only woman elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame (2006). But what many people do not realize is the women that came before and after Effa. From Olivia Taylor to…
McGregor, Robert Kuhn. A Calculus of Color: The Integration of Baseball’s American League. Jefferson, NC: McFarland and Co., 2015. Pp. 224. 19 Photos, notes, bibliography, and index. $29.95 softback. Reviewed by Lindsay Parks Pieper As a means of ice-breaking at the beginning of each semester, I ask my sport history students who they would meet…
Overmyer, James E. Black Ball and the Boardwalk: The Bacharach Giants of Atlantic City, 1916-1929. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2014. 30 Photos, Appendices, Notes, Bibliography, Index. Pp. 284. $39.95 softback. Plott, William J. The Negro Southern League: A Baseball History, 1920-1951. Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, 2015. 30 Photos, Appendices,…
By Leslie Heaphy Baseball is still America’s national pastime. You may not agree with me but there is much evidence to support this belief. Just look at the number of new books that came out in 2015 alone. Every day articles are written about the past, present and future of the game. Numerous sites exist…
By Josh Howard Our hope is that this exhibit inspires, educates and emotionally connects people of all ages…the remarkable story of the Negro Leagues. A lot of people say PNC Park is the best ballpark in America. Well, PNC Park just got a lot better. — Kevin McClatchy, then owner of the Pittsburgh Pirates, speaking…
Sport in American History 